Overall Accuracy of the Modified Duke Criteria-A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background:  Rapid and accurate diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) allows timely management of this life-threatening disease and improves outcome. The Duke criteria have traditionally been the clinical method for diagnosing IE. These criteria were reformulated at different timepoints.

Late follow-up for a randomized trial of surgical treatment of tricuspid valve regurgitation in patients undergoing left ventricular assist device implantation.

Background: We previously reported that concurrent tricuspid valve surgery (TVS) was not associated with a lower incidence of early right heart failure (RHF) in patients undergoing durable left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. This follow-up analysis aimed to further define the clinical impact of concurrent TVS after 2 months of follow-up.

Methods: Patients with moderate or severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) on preoperative echocardiography (n = 71) were randomized to LVAD implantation either alone (no TVS group; n = 34) or with concurrent TVS (TVS group; n = 37).

Platelet-rich plasma enhances rib fracture strength and callus formation in vivo.

Background: Rib fractures are a common traumatic injury affecting more than 350,000 patients a year. Early stabilization has shown to be effective in reducing pulmonary complications. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a growth factor-rich blood product known to improve soft tissue and bone healing.

Longitudinal Follow-up of Medicare Patients After Esophageal Cancer Resection in the STS Database.

Background: Understanding characteristics associated with survival after esophagectomy for cancer is critical to preoperative risk stratification. This study sought to define predictors for long-term survival after esophagectomy for cancer in Medicare patients.

Methods: The Society of Thoracic Surgeons General Thoracic Surgery Database was queried for patients aged ≥65 years who underwent esophagectomy for cancer between 2012 and 2020 and linked to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data using a deterministic matching algorithm.

Survival after partial heart transplantation in a piglet model.

Partial heart transplantation (PHT) is a novel surgical approach that involves transplantation of only the part of the heart containing a valve. The rationale for this approach is to deliver growing heart valve implants that reduce the need for future re-operations in children. However, prior to clinical application of this approach, it was important to assess it in a preclinical model.

Surgical Protocol for Partial Heart Transplantation in Growing Piglets.

Partial heart transplantation is a new approach to deliver growing heart valve implants. Partial heart transplants differ from heart transplants because only the part of the heart containing the necessary heart valve is transplanted. This allows partial heart transplants to grow, similar to the valves in heart transplants.

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Database Analysis: Comparing Sublobar Techniques in Stage IA Lung Cancer.

Background: This study compares sublobar resections-wedge resection and segmentectomy-in clinical stage IA lung cancers. It tests the hypothesis that overall survival after wedge resection is similar to segmentectomy.

Methods: Adults undergoing wedge resection or segmentectomy for clinical stage IA lung cancer were identified from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons General Thoracic Surgery Database.

Days alive and out of hospital for children born with single-ventricle heart disease.

Background: This study describes the illness burden in the first year of life for children with single-ventricle heart disease, using the metric of days alive and out of hospital to characterize morbidity and mortality.

Methods: This is a retrospective single-centre study of single-ventricle patients born between 2005 and 2021 who had their initial operation performed at our institution. Patient demographics, anatomical details, and hospitalizations were extracted from our institutional single-ventricle database.

Textbook Outcome for Superior Cavopulmonary Connection: A Metric for Single Ventricle Heart Surgery.

To develop a more holistic measure of congenital heart center performance beyond mortality, we created a composite "textbook outcome" (TO) for the Glenn operation. We hypothesized that meeting TO would have a positive prognostic and financial impact. This was a single center retrospective study of patients undergoing superior cavopulmonary connection (bidirectional Glenn or Kawashima ± concomitant procedures) from 2005 to 2021.

Partial Heart Transplant in a Neonate With Irreparable Truncal Valve Dysfunction.

Importance: The treatment of neonates with irreparable heart valve dysfunction remains an unsolved problem because there are no heart valve implants that grow. Therefore, neonates with heart valve implants are committed to recurrent implant exchanges until an adult-sized valve can fit.

Objective: To deliver the first heart valve implant that grows.

Who Benefits? An Assessment of Resident Benefits at Top 50 Academic Institutions.

Objective: Residency serves as a crucial time in the professional and personal development of young physicians. Extensive effort is devoted to the clinical training of residents across the country. However, many residents report concerns with compensation, quality of life, and benefits during their clinical training.

Long-term outcomes for hybrid aortic arch repair.

Objective: Since its inception in the early 2000s, hybrid arch repair (HAR) has evolved from novel approach to well-established treatment modality for aortic arch pathology in appropriately selected patients. Despite this nearly 20-year history of use, long-term results of HAR remain to be determined. As such, objectives of this study are to detail the long-term outcomes for HAR within an expanded classification scheme.

Use of microaxial flow pumps in adolescents.

Objectives: The Impella 5.5 has been successfully used in the adult population; however, safety and efficacy data in patients aged less than 18 years are limited.

Methods: Six pediatric patients, aged 13 to 16 years and weighing 45 to 113 kg, underwent axillary artery graft placement and attempted placement of the Impella 5.

The impact of hypertonic saline on damage control laparotomy after penetrating abdominal trauma.

Purpose: The inability to achieve primary fascial closure (PFC) after emergency laparotomy increases the rates of adverse outcomes including fistula formation, incisional hernia, and intraabdominal infection. Hypertonic saline (HTS) infusion improves early PFC rates and decreases time to PFC in patients undergoing damage control laparotomy (DCL) after injury. We hypothesized that in patients undergoing DCL after penetrating abdominal injury, HTS infusion would decrease the time to fascial closure as well as the volume of crystalloid required for resuscitation without inducing clinically relevant acute kidney injury (AKI) or electrolyte derangements.

Initial Management Strategy and Long-Term Outcomes in 186 Cases of Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a rare but important nonatherosclerotic cause of acute coronary syndrome. Indications for revascularization and long-term outcomes of SCAD remain areas of active investigation. We report our experience with initial management strategy and long-term outcomes in SCAD.

A novel low-cost model of superficial abscess for trainee education in incision and drainage.

Background: Proficiency in ultrasound usage is quickly becoming an expectation in multiple residency programs: emergency medicine, obstetrics-gynecology, surgery, and internal medicine. There is a lack of affordable training devices for ultrasound training and identification of superficial fluid collections. We sought to develop a model for trainee education in ultrasound usage, identification of superficial fluid collection, aspiration, and incision & drainage (I&D).

Growing Heart Valve Implants for Children.

The current standard of care for pediatric patients with unrepairable congenital valvular disease is a heart valve implant. However, current heart valve implants are unable to accommodate the somatic growth of the recipient, preventing long-term clinical success in these patients. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a growing heart valve implant for children.